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“This is my ultimate dream team.” John Schlifske “It is a team of great professionals who are fulfilling goals and aspirations at every level, for their own career success and, especially, on behalf of their clients.” Northwestern Mutual’s ‘Dream Team’ descends upon Milwaukee WHEN TALKING ABOUT his youth, John Schlifske recalls the times when he played team sports in high school and college. “The best times I had back then were when my colleagues and I learned the importance of pushing ourselves to be top performers – not as individuals, but in the name of the team,” says Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual’s chairman and chief executive officer. This month Schlifske will acknowledge the tremendous efforts of Northwestern Mutual’s “dream team” – the thousands of financial representatives who work to help their clients achieve financial security. As they have done for 131 years, these men and women from around the country, along with family members, will return to Milwaukee, the home base of Northwestern Mutual, for the Annual Meeting of the Association of Network Representatives. 26 PART OF SOMETHING BIG Today, Northwestern Mutual has a field force of more than 12,500. It’s a big team, but Schlifske sees in the financial representatives the same spirit he found while playing sports. “As with my teammates back then, I believe our representatives today know they are part of something much bigger, not just individual players. In March, Northwestern Mutual was named “World’s Most Admired Company” in the life insurance industry in FORTUNE® magazine’s 2011 annual survey, billed as the definitive report card on corporate reputations. The company led its industry in financial soundness, quality of products and services, long-term investment, quality of management, social responsibility, people management and use of corporate assets. “This kind of recognition validates the work we do,” Schlifske indicated. “The ranking reflects Northwestern Mutual’s strong financial and investment performance before, during, and after historic market turmoil and our ability to thrive in any economic environment.” “All of these accomplishments combined enable our representatives to make promises to clients with the confidence that we’re there to back them up,” Schlifske said. “They realize that when the organization succeeds, everyone – they themselves and clients alike – are much more richly rewarded.”